I’ve been looking through stuff I wrote back in college—papers, poems, stories, etc.—and one item was from a journalism class I took back in 2000. It’s a personal ethical code to “try to live my life to the best of my ability.” There are six bullet points, some based on the Boy Scout Handbook and writings by the Dalai Lama and Peter Singer. However, there’s one that I developed on my own that is just awesome:
“I will treat everyone and everything with respect and be willing to forgive those people who regret the harm they may have caused me or those close to me. However, I reserve the right to verbally and/or emotionally abuse those individuals who choose to close their minds to other possibilities and go through life wearing blinders. While these acts may cause temporary harm, my efforts will hopefully show them what they’ve been missing or ignoring and allow them to grow, thereby making the abuse a beneficial act in the long run.”
In other words, if you brush me off when I try to explain something, be prepared to cry like a little baby the next time you’re in earshot.
